DUBOIS – “The important thing is the DuBois Mall is open and ready for business.”
So said Earnest Diaz, representative of Jones Lang LaSalle, IP Inc., the company recently appointed by court to be the receiver of the DuBois Mall property. JLL will also serve as leasing agent for the mall.
JLL is the largest third-party manager of malls in the United States.
Diaz explained that a property is placed in receivership when the owner defaults on loans. This means that JLL will now be managing the mall.
A similar situation recently took place at a much larger property: Galleria Pittsburgh Mills, according to articles in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.
That mall was opened in 2005 in partnership between Johnstown-based Zamias Services Inc. and Mills Corp. Zamias currently owns the Clearfield and Indiana Malls.
In 2006 Galleria Pittsburgh Mills was worth $190 million. Mills Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2007, the Gazette reports. JLL was tapped to manage the mall during the foreclosure process of Galleria Pittsburgh Mills.
Earlier this year, Galleria Pittsburgh was auctioned off for $100 to Wells Fargo.
An article in Money Magazine noted that the Pittsburgh mall went into foreclosure in 2016 due to the suburban residents moving back into the urban area, resulting in fewer customers in the vast mall.
But so far as the DuBois Mall, “it’s not going anywhere,” Diaz said, “This is just an internal change.”
He said JLL intends to make needed changes and corrections to ensure the mall’s future in the community.
